ANALYST	PREDICTION
J.A. Adande ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 2 | EAST: 8  Now that KG is happy, maybe Dwight Howard can borrow some of his old bitterness and develop a nasty streak that won't tolerate underperformance by the Magic again. With Rashard Lewis the Magic have enough firepower. No excuses for missing the playoffs.
Greg Anthony ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 2 | EAST: 7  Dwight Howard is the face of this team -- but they're not playing in a way that controls the tempo and allows him to dominate the paint. I like the signing of Rashard Lewis, but not sure about those dollars.
Jon Barry ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 1 | EAST: 4  Dwight Howard looks like a different player. And his team's ready for a big step, too. Stan Van Gundy's an excellent coach, and Rashard Lewis will be good in tandem with Howard.
Chris Broussard ESPN Mag	SOUTHEAST: 2 | EAST: 8  Stan Van Gundy can coach, and he'll bring this young squad together. Rashard Lewis will be better in the East than he was out west, but unless J.J. Redick can prove he's legit, the Magic will be abysmal at the 2 spot.
Ric Bucher ESPN Mag	SOUTHEAST: 2 | EAST: 8  One of Rashard Lewis' former coaches swears his warrior spirit will make the Magic's enormous investment pay off. Then Shard's debut is cut short by cramps. Yikes. If there's any justice, though, Stan Van Gundy leads the Magic to the eighth playoff spot -- by knocking out the Heat.
Chad Ford ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 1 | EAST: 4  The Southeast Division took a step back this summer -- good news for the Magic. Everyone's made a big deal about Rashard Lewis, but Dwight Howard's the key. If he makes another leap in his development, he'll be the East's best big man.
Jemele Hill ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 1 | EAST: 4  Best team the Magic have fielded since Tracy McGrady left town. Rashard Lewis will open things up for Dwight Howard, who appears to have developed a few offensive moves. J.J. Redick will be usable. Seriously.
John Hollinger ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 1 | EAST: 4  I don't like the Lewis signing long-term, but short-term it's a different story. The Magic need shooters to space the floor for Dwight Howard and scoring punch in general, and he gives them both.
Chris Sheridan ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 4 | EAST: 12  One refrain we heard ad nauseam from GMs around the league in July: What on earth was Otis Smith doing giving Kobe money to Rashard Lewis? Especially with the way the NBA's economic landscape has changed? Very little depth here, and Foyle and Augustine are the centers.
Marc Stein ESPN.com	SOUTHEAST: 1 | EAST: 4  Not ready to say that Dwight, Rashard and Stan will be contending for the East title. The division title, though, is another matter. Orlando might even be the favorite for the Southeast crown and the top-four seed that goes with it.
	TOTAL             SOUTHEAST: 1.7 | Standings             EAST: 6.3 | Standings

Team Strength: The Forward Rotation

With the addition of Rashard Lewis, Orlando should be getting a ton of production from the frontcourt, and at the two forward spots in particular the Magic look as stacked at any team in the league. The 6-10 Lewis can play either position, and probably will rotate back and forth as matchups and injuries dictate. As a 4 he can burn bigger players with his perimeter game; as a 3 he has some nice post moves from the left block and the size to easily shoot over most small forwards.

He's not the only sweet-shooting 6-10 combo forward on the team -- Hedo Turkoglu has a nice stroke himself, and though he's unbelievably soft he does have the size to play the 4 in smallball looks when the matchups are right. Trevor Ariza provides a different element, with a burst of athleticism that makes him a force on drives or in transition; both he and Turkoglu could start for a lot of the league's teams but might not for this one.

Finally there's the team's best player, Dwight Howard. He'll often be playing center, but at times will move down to the power forward spot and use his size and athleticism to overwhelm most opponents at this position.

• John Hollinger's complete Magic forecast

STARTERS	ANALYSIS
Jameer Nelson Point Guard 6-0 | 190	Turnovers and a low FG%, but should turn the corner this season.
Keyon Dooling Shooting Guard 6-3 | 195	Don't fill in this spot in pen; J.J. Redick offers more O, Trevor Ariza more D.
Rashard Lewis Small Forward 6-8 | 215	What's $118M over six? $39,000 per bucket ... to catch all the tears.
Hedo Turkoglu Power Forward 6-10 | 220	Plays like he could use a Red Bull -- at each end of the floor.
Dwight Howard Center 6-11 | 265	Was beast before he honed a J and new post moves. Look out below!

ESPN The Magazine's NBA Preview hits newsstands October 24.

J.J. Redick Player efficiency rating projection: 13.76 vs. NBA avg.: -1.24 Magic profiles

Scouting report: Redick is a below-average athlete, and that showed up in his defensive numbers. He was the only shooting guard to play at least 500 minutes without blocking a shot, and ranked third from the bottom at his position in steals per minute. While the Magic tried to use him in spots where his shortcomings wouldn't be so hurtful, it's clear he has a lot of work to do in this area.

Offensively, he could stand to be more aggressive. Redick is a great outside shooter, but too often last year he tried to get cute -- shot-faking when he had an open look and then dribbling inside the arc for a tougher 2-pointer. One presumes with more experience he'll shake this habit and let it rip, because he has one of the best strokes in basketball.

2007-08 outlook: Redick figures to play a larger role this year now that Grant Hill is gone, but he's likely to remain coming off the bench because of his defensive struggles. Nonetheless, his ability to burn defenses that double Dwight Howard should be a huge asset, and one presumes he'll be playing some fourth quarters this year on nights when his shot is falling.